Michael W. Toffel

This podcast features experts sharing business opportunities and innovations to address climate change across a wide array of industries including agriculture, buildings, energy, financial services, and transportation. All episodes, transcripts, and show notes are here. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts or Google Play.

Government agencies can use machine learning to improve the effectiveness of regulatory inspections. Our study found that OSHA could prevent as much as twice as many injuries—translating to up to 16,000 fewer workers injured and nearly $800 million in social benefits over the decade we examined—if inspections were targeted based on approaches based on machine learning algorithms that we designed and evaluated.

This microsite is a new resource for managers of global supply chains, including brands who want to source products from suppliers that avoid problematic working conditions, auditors who assess factory working conditions, and NGOs focused on this area. The site highlights key insights of academic research in this area that provide answers to questions such as: What audit approaches are more effective at uncovering problems? How can audit programs be designed to foster improved working conditions? Which types of factories are more likely to improve working conditions?

CEOs are increasingly taking a stand on divisive social issues that don't directly affect their companies' bottom lines—a dramatic departure from tradition. This Harvard Business Review article explains why CEOs are speaking up, the tactics they are using, and the risks and potential rewards of doing so. It also provides a playbook to guide CEOs on what to weigh in on, when to lead or follow, and when to act alone or in coordination with others. it also highlights some research that shows that CEO activism can affect brand loyalty and public policy. In a follow-up, our article Divided We Lead: CEO Activism has Entered the Mainstream launched the HBR Big Idea series on Leadership in a Hot Button World. (Winner of the 2019 HBR Warren Bennis Prize as best 2018 HBR article on leadership.)

I think that most business school research should examine and help solve real-world problems that managers are facing--or that they might face in the future. This means that these scholars need to choose relevant research questions, and propose and test hypotheses that connect independent variables within the control of practitioners to outcomes they care about using logic they view as feasible. This presentation and article describe how scholars can enhance research relevance, including: (1) engaging practitioners in on-campus encounters, at managerial conferences, and at crossover workshops; (2) conducting site visits and practitioner interviews; (3) working as a practitioner; and (4) developing a practitioner advisory team. Scholars seeking to influence the practice of management also need to convey their findings and insights to practitioners. How? By presenting at practitioner conferences; writing for practitioners in crossover journals, op-eds, and blogs; and attracting the interest of those who write columns, blogs, and articles about research for practitioners. The article also offers several ideas for academic institutions-- journals, professional societies, and doctoral programs--to encourage more relevant research. This follow-up article describes how several HBS faculty conduct relevant research and communicate results to managers who can put their ideas into action. I helped organize the "Research on Effective Government: Inspection and Compliance Workshop" that brought together scholars and regulators from EPA and state-level environmental agencies to find ways to encourage more relevant research and to better communicate findings to regulators. (Image source)

• Under what circumstances do social audits of factories lead to sustained improvements in working conditions? How do social audit team characteristics affect operational improvements?
• Why are some suppliers more willing than others to disclose to their buyers their carbon footprint and vulnerability to climate change? (article)
• To what extent can private-sector governance mechanisms mitigate corruption, and thus excess pollution, in vehicle emissions testing? (article)
• To what extent does adopting the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Standard affect an organization’s environmental performance? (dissertation)
• To what extent are government policies that mandate green building practices in public construction projects stimulating the private sector green building market? (article)

• What factors lead particular quality problems documented within organizations to garner follow-up problem solving activities? (article)
• Why are some corporations much more transparent in disclosing their environmental performance than others? (article)
• Why are some suppliers more willing than others to disclose to their buyers their carbon footprint and vulnerability to climate change? (article)

He also coordinates and teaches the Doctoral Seminar in Technology and Operations Management to help doctoral students develop research ideas, design studies, conduct robust analysis, and learn to clearly present their insights.

Toffel has also taught the MBA elective Environmentally Sustainable Strategy & Operations, a course based on the award-winningBusiness and the Environment course he co-developed with Forest Reinhardt.

He has also taught the Technology and Operations Management portion of the Business Education for Scholars and Teachers (BEST) course to all HBS doctoral students.